A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

[Execution of Penalty - Transferred to Penalty Dungeon: Horror Inn.]

This time, the text didn't appear on the wall, but right in the center of Han Yingying's field of vision, like a floating projection screen.

The floor beneath my feet began to crack.

"Sister!" Liu Siqi rushed down the stairs and reached out to pull Han Yingying.

Han Yingying looked into Liu Siqi's eyes—eyes filled with genuine fear. In this family, at least one person's emotions were real.

But it was too late.

Darkness surged up from beneath her feet, engulfing Han Yingying completely.

When Han Yingying woke up again, she smelled dust.

She lay on a road. The asphalt was cracked, weeds sprouted from the cracks, and the sky was a dark orange at dusk, with no sign of the sun.

At the end of the road stood a sign, made of wood, leaning precariously. It read:

Welcome to the haunted guesthouse – your temporary accommodation.

[The rules will be distributed after check-in. Please gather at the waiting area first.]

Han Yingying got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. She looked down at herself—her clothes were the same, her phone was still in her pocket, but it had no signal. Her wallet was also there, containing several hundred yuan in cash and a few cards.

The waiting area was fifty meters ahead. It was a simple platform, a rusty tin shed. Several people were already standing under the shed.

Han Yingying walked over.

Five people. Three men and two women.

The most conspicuous person was a woman in a leather jacket, around thirty years old, tall, with long hair half dyed red and heavy makeup. She leaned against the bus stop pillar smoking, her eyes scanning everyone who walked by through the swirling smoke—including Han Yingying.

Standing next to him was a tall man, over 1.9 meters tall, wearing a black windbreaker, with a buzz cut, and the muscles in his arms bulging the sleeves. He crossed his arms and remained expressionless.

There was also a young couple who looked like a couple—the boy wore glasses and was thin, while the girl had her hair in pigtails and was holding the boy's hand tightly. Both of them were pale and had red eyes, as if they had just been crying.

The last one was a middle-aged man with a beer belly, wearing a floral shirt, and carrying a plastic bag containing several cans of beer. He was sitting on a bench on the platform, already having opened one can and was drinking it.

Han Yingying walked to the edge of the platform and stood still.

The woman in the leather jacket glanced at her and flicked her cigarette ash. "New here? How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times have I entered the dungeon?"

Han Yingying's mind raced. She didn't remember anything before her amnesia, but the caption on the group photo read "Group photo after the dungeon." She had been to the dungeon before. How many times? She didn't know. But in this situation, a newbie was clearly at a disadvantage.

"The second time," Han Yingying said.

"What level?" the woman in the leather jacket pressed.

Han Yingying hesitated for only a fraction of a second. "Grade C."

As soon as she spoke, a line of semi-transparent text popped up in front of her eyes—visible only to her:

[Fraud detected - You have never cleared a C-rank dungeon.]

[System Reward: Acquired the skill "Trickster".]

[The Deceiver (Passive Skill): Increases the credibility of lies by 80%, effective against low-level strange creatures. The effect is halved against strange creatures of the same or higher level.]

[Personal records updated: C-rank dungeon cleared x1.]

Han Yingying blinked.

She told a lie, and then the system rewarded her with a skill specifically for lying?

What is this? Rewarding the opposite of honesty?

"C-rank, not bad." The woman in the leather jacket stubbed out her cigarette, her attitude noticeably improving. "My name is Shen Hong, and I've cleared B-rank twice." She pointed to the tall man, "His name is Xu Lei, and he's also cleared B-rank."

Xu Lei nodded without saying anything.

"We are Lin Chao and Xiao Yu," the bespectacled boy said, his voice a little hesitant. "This is our first time entering a dungeon."

The middle-aged man drinking beer raised his can. "Old Zhang, I passed the D-level and I'm making a living."

Han Yingying noticed a problem—six people. One punishment instance, six players.

"Just the six of us?"

"The rules at the waiting area say that the bus will depart when there are six people," Shen Hong said. "You're the last one."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of an engine came from afar.

A bus came from the end of the road.

The bus was old, its dark green paint peeling away to reveal rust underneath. Only one headlight was working, making it look like a one-eyed monster. The LED display on the roof flashed red text:

【Terrifying B&B - Special Line】

As soon as the car door opened, a musty smell hit me.

The driver was a man in a gray uniform. Though called a man, it was difficult to see clearly—his face was mostly obscured by the shadow of his hat brim, revealing only his chin and lips. His lips were bluish-gray.

"Get in." The driver's voice was like metal scraping against the ground, dry and harsh. "One weird coin per person."

Old Zhang was the first to walk to the bus door, and took a black coin out of his pocket. The coin had an eye engraved on one side and a tooth on the other. He dropped the coin into the coin box next to the door with a "ding."

"Please have a seat," the driver said.

Old Zhang got on the bus and found a seat in the front row.

Shen Hong and Xu Lei each put in a coin.

When it was the couple's turn, a problem arose.

"I...I only have one." Lin Chao searched his pockets thoroughly, his face covered in sweat. "Xiaoyu doesn't have any."

The driver tilted his head. Half of his face was visible under the brim of his hat—that half of his face had no skin, and the exposed muscle texture was clearly visible, with each red muscle fiber covered by a transparent membrane.

"No coins, no boarding."

"What should we do? What if she doesn't get in the car?" Lin Chao's voice trembled.

"Those who are not getting on the bus should stay at the waiting area," the driver said.

What will happen if I stay at the waiting area?

The driver didn't answer. But the sky outside the car darkened further—dusk was transitioning into night.

A new line of text appeared on the metal shed of the waiting area: "After dark, the waiting area will no longer be a safe zone."

Lin Chao and Xiao Yu hugged each other.

"I have one." Han Yingying stepped forward.

She didn't actually have any. There were no weird coins in her pockets. But she now had a skill—a con artist.

She took out the ordinary one-yuan coin from her pocket—her wallet contained a few coins. She twirled the coin between her fingers and tossed it into the coin box.

"bite."

The coin box beeped.

Han Yingying stared at the driver.

The driver tilted his head and looked at her for a while. On the half-skinless face beneath the brim of his hat, his lips moved.

"Please sit down."

Han Yingying breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't show it on her face. She boarded the train and saw that there were twelve seats in the carriage—six on the left and six on the right. But not every seat was empty.

Four seats were already occupied.

No, it's not a person.

A girl in a school uniform sat on the left side of the first row, her hands on her knees, her hair obscuring her face. She was motionless, like a specimen.